New social media initiative will also raise money for Canadian charities

TORONTO, April 20, 2012 /CNW/ - Your daughter hitting her first home run; a husband and wife's first dance; volunteering your time at a local charity … what do you define as richness in your life? Today, Scotiabank launched The Richness Project, a one-of-a-kind social experiment that will raise money for 18 Canadian charities and give Canadians a platform to share moments special to them which make life truly fulfilling or 'rich'.

"The idea behind The Richness Project is that one person's moment of richness can help create another rich moment for someone else, whether inspirational or in the form of a donation to one of our partner charities," said Anatol von Hahn, Scotiabank Group Head, Canadian Banking. "This important initiative embodies our brand expression 'You're richer than you think', and is a part of Scotiabank's larger Bright Future community investment and sponsorship strategy intended to enrich lives in communities across Canada, where we live, work and do business."

Some of Canada's most beloved personalities are getting behind The Richness Project and will be sharing their personal moments throughout the campaign to inspire the rest of the country to get involved. The first Canadians to share their 'rich' moments are two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, who selected a photo of her favourite Sunday walk with her daughter, and hockey icon and former Stanley Cup champion, Lanny McDonald, who shared a photo of his uplifting hockey game in Kandahar, Afghanistan with men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces.

The Richness Project invites all Canadians to share their special life moments. Canadians who visit TheRichnessProject.com can submit a photo or video of what illustrates a 'richness moment' to them, in a place they are already sharing: Facebook. For every person who shares their photo or video, a dollar will be donated to one of the 18 featured charities of their choice through the Scotiabank Bright Future global philanthropic program. The featured charities reflect the six pillars of the Bright Future program; namely health, education, social services, arts and culture, sport and the environment.

How The Richness Project works:

1. Create.
   Connect to Facebook and select an image from any of your photo albums. Scotiabank will provide the tools to create your own richness moment.
   
   
2. Share.
   'Like' The Richness Project on Facebook and you can share your moment with your friends and family.
   
   
3. Scotiabank Donates.
   For participating in The Richness Project, Scotiabank will donate a dollar to one of the featured charities you select.

To learn more or share your richness moment, visit TheRichnessProject.com

About Scotiabank Bright Future

The Scotiabank Bright Future program is the Bank's global philanthropic program which brings together all of the Bank's charitable, social and community efforts and employee volunteer activities under one banner. Through the Bright Future program, the Bank's charitable efforts are aimed at being relevant and responsive to the needs of each community at a grassroots level and provide support across the fields of health, arts, education, social services, sports and the environment. For more information on Scotiabank Bright Future, please visit http: www.scotiabankbrightfuture.com.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad, through our global philanthropic program, Scotiabank Bright Future.  Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $45 million annually to community causes around the world over each of the last five years. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com.

Video with caption: "Video: The Richness Project". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20120420_C6759_VIDEO_EN_12473.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20120420_C6759_PHOTO_EN_12473.jpg&clientName=Scotiabank&caption=Video%3A%20The%20Richness%20Project&title=The%20Richness%20Project&headline=The%20Richness%20Project%3A%20Scotiabank%20Invites%20Canadians%20to%20share%20what%20%27Richness%27%20means%20to%20them

Image with caption: "Cassie Campbell-Pascall's Richness Moment (CNW Group/Scotiabank)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120420_C6759_PHOTO_EN_12471.jpg

Image with caption: "Lanny McDonald's Richness Moment (CNW Group/Scotiabank)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120420_C6759_PHOTO_EN_12472.jpg